The Endless Forest

Felix stared down at his food, doing his best to avoid eye contact…

It was the next morning and he, along with Eri, Aluin, and Chief Yorlen, were sitting at the Chief’s kitchen table. Already, word about his and Eri’s fun had spread. He could not bear to face the two older elves, let alone Eri.

“Dwarven ale!” Chief Yorlen shouted, letting out a hearty chuckle. “Ah, I remember back in my youth, some idiot tried it. They ended up streaking around the village, muttering about some marathon…”

“That’s not even that bad,” Aluin interjected, “there was someone who tried to steal a dragon’s hoard after drinking it. Turns out that hoard of gold was a pile of manure.”

The two elves broke out into laughter, causing Felix to sink further into his seat.

“In all honesty,” Yorlen said, “you two lovebirds got off easy… Though, I must admit, I never knew human mating rituals were so…domineering.” He burst out in laughter once again.

All Felix wanted to do was crawl under the table and hide forever.

“Say, where did you even find dwarven ale?” The chief asked after settling down.

“From one of the stalls…” Felix answered, still avoiding eye contact.

“Ah, you must have ended up at one of the traders’ stalls.” Aluin said. “Actually, I bet I know exactly whose stall.”

“Whose?” He asked.

“Torm’s.”

Felix froze, everything suddenly made sense. “Revenge?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“Most likely, though it could have been worse. I suspect they probably didn’t want to do anything too drastic, less they want me to revisit. Still, I would be cautious around his group, they might try something else.”

He nodded. “I’ll be careful.”

“Anyway,” Aluin continued, “what are the two of you going to do today?”

Felix thought about it, he did have a few ideas. He tossed a quick glance over to Eri but she was still pretending to be invisible. “Well, I did see quite a few items for trade, and I think it would be a good way to get people to stop avoiding me. But…”

“But?”

“I didn’t bring anything to trade with,” he said, somehow sinking further into his chair.

“Felix, I think you are forgetting something.” Aluin said.

He furrowed his brows and finally looked up to the elf. “What am I forgetting?”

The sage shook his head and chuckled. “You are forgetting that there are two dragon’s outside this house.”

“I… I don’t–”

The Chief cut in. “He’s talking about their scales.”

“Indeed I am. Dragon scales are rare and have some interesting properties. They are worth as much, if not more than, precious gems.”

Yorlen nodded in agreement. “They can be enchanted themselves and then embedded into most objects, giving the item its enchantment. I’ve also heard they can be used in potions as a way to boost them, but that would destroy the scale in the process.”

Huh, I didn’t know that– Wait a second! “Is that why people have been coming up to Kyrith? To take scales from him?”

Aluin answered. “Not without asking, they’d be a fool to try otherwise. Elves tend to treat dragons with respect, and even if the dragon doesn’t do anything, the other elves would.”

“For stealing something of that rarity, the punishment is quite severe…” the Chief confirmed.

“I see…” Felix did not want the elf to elaborate.

Aluin turned to Eri. “And what are you doing today?”

“Huh?! Oh… Um, probably not much… I’m sure Kyrith will want to do something with the kids though. So maybe that?” She quickly stood up. “Anyway, I’m done eating.”

The rest of them watched as she made her getaway, earning a head shake from the Sage as she left.

“Well then… I suppose we should be leaving as well.” Chief Yorlen glanced over to Aluin. “The sooner we get there, the sooner that damn meeting will end.”

Aluin got up. “Right, hopefully everyone will be there on time.”

“Hah, doubtful. Your two lovebirds weren’t the only ones having fun last night. Apparently Noria was enjoying herself as well. I’m just hoping she got that list together…”

Aluin waved goodbye to Felix as he and Chief Yorlen left…

Left alone, he finally started on his, now cold, breakfast. After finishing and getting up to start his day, he noticed that Eri had barely touched her meal. He frowned, and decided to go check on her.

Walking out of the kitchen and into the hall, he stopped at her door.

“Eri?” He asked softly after knocking. Silence was the only response.

A dilemma had formed, should he attempt to open her door and make sure she was alright, or should he leave her alone? It was a tough decision, and both could have serious consequences.

Maybe I should just leave her alone. The embarrassment from last night must be killing her… He let out a sigh.

Despite everything that happened, Felix wasn’t sure if he regretted it. But Eri isn’t me, she is supposed to be Aluin’s apprentice. She has a certain perception she must keep.

He decided to let her be, but not before speaking up one last time. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I enjoyed last night. I had a lot of fun and it was…nice to see you unwind.” He paused, feeling his cheeks flush once again. “I hope I can get to see that side of you again.”

He waited a few uncomfortable moments before he started leaving, however, a noise from inside made him stop.

“I… Had fun too.” Eri said, barely a whisper through the door.

Felix smiled. “I’m heading out now, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye…” She responded, stuttering.

With that, he turned and left.

***

A little while later, Felix was happily walking down the street. A pouch at his side was stuffed full with dragon scales, and convincing the dragons had been interesting. Zira was easy, as she hated loose scales and thought of them as blemishes. But it was Kyrith that he had to persuade.

The ember-colored dragon thought differently than Zira, making it sound like he would suddenly have bald spots. It was a silly notion, and one easily disproved after a quick demonstration…

He shook his head in amusement and brought himself back to the present. The sun was already up, but the sky was quickly growing cloudy. There were whispers it might rain the next day, but most seemed hopeful that today would be dry.

Speaking of the elves, they were slowly coming back to their senses after a long night of partying. Already, he could see quite a few with hangovers as they drearily got started with their day.

It seems it's going to be a slow start, Felix thought to himself. That was fine with him, he only wanted to check the market out and then spend the rest of the day with Zira, as promised.

At the very least, I can hope most don’t remember much from last night… That was looking doubtful, as he passed by one particular group of elves. They quickly noticed him and nudged each other, pointing in his direction. There was definitely some snickering coming from them.

He paid them no mind and pretended to not see them. Instead, he continued past until he did see a familiar face.

“Lorem!” Felix waved to the tall elf.

“Huh? Oh, Felix!” The elf turned and gave him a broad smile. “Nice to see you again,” Lorem chuckled.

“Nice to see you as well,” he said, coming to a stop in front of Lorem.

The elf held out a hand in greeting, which Felix hesitantly accepted. Thankfully, the handshake wasn’t nearly as crushing as their previous.

“So, what are you up to?” He asked, silently thanking the gods.

“Hmm, I wanted to trade some stuff.” Lorem pointed to a large pack strapped to his back. “What about you?”

Felix chuckled. “The same, actually.” He pointed to the small pouch on his side.

“What? You got some precious stones or something?!” The elf said in jest.

“Even better.” He gestured for the elf to lower himself before whispering, “Dragon scale–”

“WHAT?! YOU HAVE–”

“Whoa! Calm down!” Felix frantically tried to quieten down Lorem. It worked, sort of.

“–dragon scales!”

That was a mistake… He thought to himself. His idea was to be subtle about it, now knowing how valuable they were. But I guess word would have eventually gotten out. Still, I need to be careful, especially with Torm’s group around.

Clearing his throat, Felix shifted the topic back to Lorem. “Anyway, what do you got for trade?”

“Oh! Let me show you!” The elf said, a little too energetically. Taking off his pack, it landed on the ground with a hard thud. He quickly opened it and began pulling a couple items out before holding them up.

“Wow,” Felix said, a little stunned. Lorem was holding two intricately carved wooden figurines. One was of an elven child, sitting as if on the ground and staring up into the sky. There was wonderment in the carving’s eyes, a detail that should be impossible to create.

Yet, there it is…

The other was even more impressive. It was of a dire wolf, posed like it was leaping out with a snarl on its face. The carved fur even looked realistic, bristling as it attacked…

Felix had a brief flashback to his fight with them, having to shake his head to dislodge that particular memory.

“You made these?” He asked incredulously.

“Heheh, I did.” Lorem put on a proud smile. “It gets boring on the road, and so I started picking up hobbies left and right. But wood carving and–” The elf cut himself off, there was a look of embarrassment on his face before he hid it. “But wood carving is one of my favorites.”

“I see that, but what are you hoping to trade them for?” He asked, ignoring Lorem’s awkward slip. Let sleeping dragons lie…

“Well… I did see this necklace yesterday. I thought it would look good on Noria.”

Now there’s an idea! Get a gift for Eri, that might just cheer her up! Maybe one for Zira as well? She would like that too. He took one final look at the carved figurines as Lorem stuffed them back into his pack.

“Say Lorem, I have a proposal for you… Can you carve dragons?”

“Probably? If I had a reference–” He stopped and looked at Felix. “What are you proposing, exactly?”

Solanna was standing aside, doing her best to not appear worried. Her brother was up at the firing line, bow in hand, and nocking an arrow. A moment later, he pulled back the string and released it, sending the arrow flying through the air…

The two siblings were at an archery range, near the edge of the village. It had been set up for the festival and mainly catered to the young and inexperienced. Multiple targets had been set up in various locations on the range at increasing distances.

That wasn’t all to it though, some were placed directly out in the open while others were partially obscured by bales of hay. Overall, it was a well built course, but not for anyone truly experienced.

It was perfect for her brother, admittedly. The bow had a low draw strength, and the right sized arrows to match. That didn’t mean Solanna didn’t have to worry, however. Her brother wouldn’t admit it, but his mana was nearly depleted.

We’ll need to find Felix soon, she thought with some agitation. She didn’t like to see her brother in pain, whether it be from his condition or Felix giving him mana. Still, one was clearly better than the other…

In an attempt to distract herself, she focused on Yedril’s form as he prepared to fire another arrow. Her brother was aiming for the farthest and smallest target on the range. Hitting it would mean winning the grand prize, a beautifully carved bow.

His form isn’t that bad. She was a hunter by necessity, though a pretty damn good one. She had to be, her family had mostly relied on her hunting so that her parents could stay closer to home. When she wasn’t watching Yedril, she was most likely out in the forest looking for their next meal.

As she watched, something started to bother her. Every time her brother fired an arrow it seemed to drift off course ever so slightly. At first she thought it was him, but the closer she watched the more she realized something else was going on.

“Yedril, wait a second.” She said and approached. She could see the frustration in his eyes as he lowered the bow.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Let me see that arrow for a moment.” She held out a hand expectantly.

Confused, Yedril did as instructed and watched patiently as Solanna studied the arrow. She started by testing the weight and balance of the arrow, finding it to be relatively normal. Satisfied with that, she held it up and inspected its straightness.

Hmm? That’s odd…

“Is everything alright?” A hesitant voice spoke up. It belonged to the elf running this little archery range.

“Perhaps…” She muttered, lowering the arrow. “Hey Yedril, let me borrow that bow real quick.”

“Uh, sure…” He handed her the bow and she stepped up to the line.

Taking quick aim at a mid-range target, Solanna fired the arrow and watched it soar through the air. Only for it to hit the target slightly off from where she aimed. She furrowed her brow.

“Hand me another one,” she commanded. Yedril complied, but didn’t look happy about it.

“What’s wrong–” The other elf tried to ask, but she just nocked the arrow, took aim, and fired at a further away target.

This arrow went sailing, but its trajectory was wrong. It landed in the dirt next to the target, completely missing it.

I see what’s going on here, she thought furiously. She took a look at the target at the very end of the range. It’s no wonder that no ones been able to hit it and claim the prize… Until now, at least.

She let a cold smile slip out as she turned to her brother. “Hand me–”

“Miss! What’s going on? What’s wrong?” The other elf sounded flustered and annoyed.

“What’s wrong? Your arrows.” She said curtly, before addressing her brother again. “Hand me another one.”

Yedril looked between the two for a moment before handing her his final one. “Here you go sister, but it’s the last one.”

“Thank you.” She took it and held it up to study it one final time. It looked just like the first one, which all but confirmed her suspicion.

Adjusting her stance, she nocked the arrow and aimed. She took her time, watching the grass gently bend from the light wind. This hadn’t been the first time Solanna had used shoddy arrows, and she now understood what was wrong.

Luckily, the target is standing perfectly still for me– She cut herself off as she saw her chance. She fired off the arrow, and watched with satisfaction as it arced through the air and slammed into the center of the prized target.

“How did you… This game is only meant for amateurs! You cannot claim–” The elf was outraged, but she whipped around to face him, matching him with her own fury.

“No amateur would be able to hit such a target! Not with these arrows! You sir, are cheating!”

“HOW DARE Y–”

“NO! HOW DARE YOU!” She shouted, cutting him off. “It’s no wonder why you are only allowing inexperienced archers to try their hand at the prize! Anyone with practice would have noticed almost immediately!”

“Solanna! What’s going on?” Yedril broke in.

“This elf is cheating his own game. His arrows are slightly warped, ensuring no one would win his grand prize.”

“My arrows are perfectly fine! You were even able to hit the hardest target!”

Now she was pissed. “You’re right. I did hit the hardest target, with your shitty arrows no less! I want the damn prize.”

“NO–”

Yedril took a step back as his sister got rather calm, a bad sign.

“Then I shall take those arrows and bring them to a Fletcher, or perhaps Chief Yorlen himself– Actually, I might take them straight to Master Aluin. I’m sure either one will be able to determine the quality of them.”

“HAH! Do you think they would care to listen to some random nobody?!”

She smiled deviously. “If only that were the case… But even if it was, Master Aluin has been known to step in to deal with matters. Just ask Torm about that.”

The elf gulped. Everyone had heard the rumors about Torm and while the reasons varied, one thing was for certain, Master Aluin had intervened…

Eri laid curled up in her bed, silently crying. She had ran through everything that happened last night, and cursed herself the entire time. It wasn’t so much the embarrassment at their display of public indecency but rather, what Felix would say to it? To her?

It was true that they had been under the effects of the dwarven ale, but that person she showed off was something she didn’t even know existed. When her mind had cleared, she had become deathly afraid of what he would think of her.

Breakfast had been tense, to say the least, she barely touched her food as Aluin and Chief Yorlen went on joking about them. But it was the awkwardness coming from Felix that she couldn’t bear to see, he barely looked at her…

Her nerves couldn’t take it, she had to leave. So she did.

Laying in silence she started brainstorming how to fix this. Just when she thought their relationship might grow, it all came shattering down. Her heart hurt, and all she wanted to do was cry…

That was when Felix had chosen to knock on her door. It caused her to stiffen. This is it, she thought to herself, we’re alone and he–

“...I enjoyed last night. I had a lot of fun and it was…nice to see you unwind.”

What? Her heart skipped a beat.

“I hope I can get to see that side of you again.”

Now her heart raced, this hadn’t been what she was expecting. I-I need to say something! In her panic, she stumbled out of her bed and ran to the door. She reached out to open it but stopped, there was no way she wanted him to see her in this state. Instead, she opted for the next best thing.

Leaning on the door, Eri did her best to speak and said the first thing that came to her. “I… Had fun too.”

There was a moment of silence before Felix spoke up. “I’m heading out now, I’ll see you later.”

Still stunned, she stuttered, “Bye…”

With that, Eri could hear his footsteps going down the hall.